Mavs catch dangerous 0-4 Bulldogs Saturday

Published 7:00 pm, Friday, October 1, 2004

Some team records are like a mirage in the desert. An oasis on the horizon turns out to be just more sand. A poor start may not mean a bad team is the underlying cause.

By Robert Avery

That's why the Memorial High School head football coach is viewing La Porte's 0-4 record with a great deal of skepticism. So is La Porte the best 0-4 team in the state of Texas? "They're a pretty good football team. They've played a tough schedule. They outplayed and they outhustled North Shore. They got outathleted, but most people do." Of course, when you're an expansion varsity program, thrown into a hotbed of quality programs like the Houston area, even teams sporting 0-4 records must be respected. La Porte, which qualified for the state playoffs last season, is coming off a 24-0 loss to defending state champion North Shore, handing the Bulldogs their current 0-4 record and 0-1 district ledger. Unbeaten Clear Lake plus Aldine and Baytown Sterling have also pinned losses on La Porte. Memorial and La Porte played Sterling on consecutive weeks with the Mavericks losing 45-21 and La Porte falling 28-21. In watching La Porte last week, Gooden was very impressed with the way La Porte took care of one of the fundamentals to the game. "I was really, really impressed with the tackling," the Mavs head coach said. He describes the Bulldogs as neither run or pass oriented, but a team that prefers to mix it up as long as possible, providing the scoreboard doesn't dictate they must throw. "They test you in a lot of ways," Gooden said. Memorial's 3-4 defense will be tested by La Porte sophomore quarterback Boogie Anagnostou. Yes, the same Boogie who was named co-MVP from this past spring's 23-5A baseball campaign. Gooden said it was Anagnostou's first start at quarterback, replacing Cody Garner. Two of Anagnostou's opening 25 tosses, prior to last week's game, went for touchdowns. And because Memorial isn't quite in North Shore's class, La Porte may choose to go with the sophomore over the senior once again behind center. La Porte returns an all-district wide receiver in Rhett Thibodeaux, who collected first team all-district honors. But Thibodeaux is the exception not the norm in terms of all-district returners. Overall, the Bulldogs lost five first or second-team all-district players on offense. La Porte's ground attack has been grounded for the opening month of the season. Dee Wee Davis is the team's leading rusher. La Porte's run defense must contend with Memorial tailback Jay Medellin, who is battling South Houston's Terrell Washington and Dobie's Adrian Dennis for top 23-5A rushing honors. The Mavs' little speedburner is fresh from a 162-yard effort against Pasadena, his second-best performance this season. Fullback Danny Vierra is becoming a good lead blocker for Medellin in the team's I-formation look. Quarterback Trey Carter looked sharp in last week's 31-7 victory over Pasadena. He had pinpoint control on most of his throws, getting the ball to his receivers on the run. Drey Porter and Jarred McIntyre and Sergio Calderon will be the team's receivers. Anthony Rodriguez, another receiver, is nursing what is described as a tender ankle and is doubtful. Whenever the control tower feels it's time for Air Carter to take off, it'll obviously need a strong outing from his offensive line. Thanassi Varvoutis at center along with Daniel Oliver, Aaron Jasso, John Ortiz and Jason Badger must continue their "learning on the job," as Gooden has put it, if Memorial's offense is to find success Saturday night. If Gooden likes La Porte's balanced look, he endeared himself to his own team's balanced attack last week when the team rushed for 217 yards and passed for 239. Graduation wasn't kind to La Porte's defensive look. It claimed two second team all-district linemen. Despite the two wins over the opening month of the season, Gooden feels the team has only scratched the surface as far as improvement is concerned. "We're not improving as fast as we'd like. Part of that is due to immaturity, but we're still looking at better consistency. A good team is going to do that," Gooden said. GAME NOTES: La Porte has won its last six games at Memorial Stadium, including a 3-0 record during the 2003 season. La Porte's last loss at Memorial Stadium came on Oct. 17, 1998 when Dobie defeated the Bulldogs 24-7. … Memorial is planning an old-fashioned tailgate party for its fans at 5 p.m.